Penny Black Saturday Challenge..

Some amazing prizes to be won over on The Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog this week as its not just any old regular challenge week..Its special!!...They're running the Countdown to Christmas blog hop!!!! Go check it out!!!

The theme for this week is..

WINTER WONDERLAND

I've just made this bind it all album..

I had NO help from ickle Sofie today, she was supposed to be helping me but Sharni offered to take her to the cinema instead.. & guess what she chose?!?! huh, so unfair!!! :o)

anyway, I though it'd be nice for the girls to have something special to stick all their Christmas photos into... I hope they like it!

Have a great weekend!!!

xxx

BIA Christmas album...

Do you remember a while ago I mentioned I'd ordered the 'Christmas Jingle' simply scrappin kit for myself..Well today I finally had chance to play with it & WOW this kit is maga-impressive! - You get loads & loads of stuff in there!

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Here's what I made... A large (& I mean LARGE - almost A4 sized!) Bind-it-all Christmas album, I cut all the pages to shape on the cricut machine & then simply embellished as desired..

I still had plenty of kit left over so I also managed to make 2 A4scrapbook layouts..

& I've STILL got enough scraps left to make a few cards too!!!!

The kit is on page 79 of the catalogue & is priced at £15.50 (don't forget you could buy this as part of the Christmas extravaganza & earn yourself a FREE tag punch worth £12.50 too)

Enjoy the rest of your day!!!

xxx

NEW - SCRAPBOOK CROP!!!!!

Click on poster above to enlarge.

xxx

I scrapbook..

Very occasionally!... I used to scrapbook all the time & now I'm finding myself making more & more cards & simply not having the time to make layouts..a while ago I promised myself I'd make one EVERY week - I didn't stick to it though!!! :o(

I did however make this one up very quickly the other evening - I wanted to use this collage I'd printed out. As you can see I really didn't do too much to the layout - There is so much going on in all the photos that the page didn't need many more elements..

I just added the pumpkins & date..

xxx

Another Christmas card...

For this card I used the tree from the 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set, the sentiment is from 'Sincere salutations', a combination of Chocolate chip & Close to cocoa cardstock to co-ordinate perfectly with the DSP & of course matching Grosgrain ribbon.

Do you know that's the thing I love most about Stampin Up... the fact Its so easy to make a very smart card with all the perfectly co-ordinating stash :o)

xxx

PBSC75..

Its Saturday again - I can't believe how quickly this week has flown by!!!

Time for another Penny Black Saturday Challenge..

Christmas for the Guys

Here's my card..

I'm not too sure what this PB stamp is called, its not one of mine - It was stamped for me by my friend Sam, so I'll ask her whats its called and get back to you on that one... :o)

The Designer papers & Cardstock are of course Stampin Up... & the snowflakes are hand cut from a sheet of SU designer paper too.

xxx

Stampers10 - BONUS PRIZES..

Well my first Stampers 10 club has just come to an end & I'd like to say Thank you so much to my 10 ladies who signed up to be part of my group.

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I have some BONUS PRIZES to give away...

1.. Polka Dot Punches Stamp set

2.. Botanical Blooms Stamp set

3.. A reel of So Saffron Grosgrain ribbon.

I couldn't think of a fairer way to share the 3 prizes than simply popping all your names into a bowl & randomly picking out 3 winners..

Here you all are....

And the lucky winners picked are...

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MAUREEN.C. - SARA.B. - NATALIE.A. - YOU ARE WINNERS!!!

Congratulations ladies & Thank you again for being in my S10 club!

xxx

Ribbon Share...

If you are anything like me & absolutely adore the Stampin Up ribbons then this is just PERFECT for you!

This share is for the 5/8" (1.6cm) Grosgrain Ribbon.

It comes in 8 different colours..You can get a 2 metres of each colour - 16 metres in total for just £7.68 (+ 75p p&p)

Now, I had a total of 12 places available for this share & 7 have already been filled so just 5 more places available!!

Email me - valentines.cards@btinternet.com - if you would like to be included.


xxx

Another Christmas card...

..I still have LOADS to make though!..

For this one I used a combination of Regal Rose, Rose Red & Old Olive, The sentiment is a Penny Black stamp & the gorgeous swirl is from the Stampin Up Frames with a Flourish set...

I'm off out today to visit another sewing shop, but will come back on here later with details of my New Ribbon share.

& my lovely Stampers10 ladies will (finally) find out who will be receiving the Bonus Pressies!!

See you later

xxx

I'm hooked!!!!

As promised, a quick post to keep you updated on the quilting idea...

Well, we went up to The Quilt Room in Dorking - WOW it was brilliant!!! I'm totally hooked already..the fabrics are just amazing & the lady up there was wonderful.

The whole idea of quilting, or even machine sewing is quite daunting to me - I don't even own a sewing machine! But, my mum is great with a machine, she has been using one & making clothes since she was 7 years old (she sure has a lot to teach me!!!) After our trip to the quilt room we headed back down to Brighton & straight into our local sewing machine shop - the ingeniously named..Brighton Sewing Centre.. Again, a wonderful shop keeper,very very helpful & informative, he let me try all the machines & find the one that would work best for me...of course, I found one & surprise surprise it was over my budget.. I will get it though! - I just need a little more time to convince hubby that I NEED to spend ££££ on a sewing machine!

xxx

A new hobby maybe???....

I'm tempted to try a new hobby - Quilting - Have you ever tried it? Got any tips to share?

It's something that has appealed to me for a while now, I been following Anna Maria Horners blog for ages & she has the most wonderful fabric collections, to be honest i've always been too scared to buy any though - I really don't think I could make anything good enough to do her gorgeous fabrics justice!!

Mum & I are off to a quilting shop tomorrow, so we'll have a good look around & ask lots of questions before jumping in but I can see myself getting hooked..

Just look at how beautiful these are..

I'll let you know how we get on! - Bye for now xxx

2 Birthdays = 2 Cards...

Can you believe my Brother & his girlfriend share the same birthday...how weird is that!!?? anyway we had a lovely meal out lastnight at the local Thai restaurant to celebrate & of course it meant I had to make 2 cards.

Here's the one I made for my bro..

He likes a bit of a gamble & will often be found in the Casino so the new 'Jackpot' papers by SU were absolutely perfect for him, I made the sentiment on photoshop which is supposed to resemble the Vegas sign - It took me bloomin hours (i'm not that good with ps) it turned out ok in the end though.

His girlfriends card was much easier to put together

My friend Sam showed me a card she'd made recently using the labels8 nestie to make the card, so I wanted to give this a try. I then inked around the edges to soften the card, stamped the greenery using the 'pocket silhouettes' stamp set & added a beautiful butterfly & sentiment from the 'Flight of butterfly' stamp set.

xxx

Welcome Home...

It was the Stampin Up! convention in Germany this weekend & judging from all the chatter over on ILWS & various blogs its sounds like everyone had a fabby time!

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Welcome home fellow demos & WELL DONE all of you who walked the stage & received awards - My SU Mummy Monica got TOP demo!!!

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There are a few pics HERE courtesy of JoD & loads more over on ILWS so pop over for a nosey.

(& a good account of what went on over on Weekend stampers blog).

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& the very best news is that the next convention will be in LONDON !!!

xxx

PBSC74

Todays Penny Black Saturday Challenge is..

SONG TITLE or LYRICS

So... I decided to make something totally different using the cute PB froggies.

I made Sofie a picture to hang in her room complete with faux wooden frame...

Frog Chorus (Paul McCartney)

Head on over there & give it a go - You can win a £10 voucher to spend on Stampin Up goodies with us!!!!! :o)

xxx

PBSC73

Here's my last minute entry for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge..

White on White

xxx

Medallion Workshop Cards...

We've been making these cards at the workshops this week and I think they're just wonderful...

I love the new Stampin Up Medallion stamp its so impressive & works great with any colour..

Taken with Teal with hint of Silver..

Lavender lace..

Real red..

Its hard to see in the photo but this one is actually a shaker card - The centre of the medallion is punched out covered with acetate & has red microbeads inside.

& lastly Glorious Green..

Such a versatile stamp - Don't you think it would make really elegant wedding invitations too??

xxx

Postpals..

Have you ever heard of this charity?.. Its a fantastic charity which organises cards, letters & gifts to be sent to sick children.

My good friend Dawn has post on her blog asking if anyone would be willing to join up & i'm definitely up for it!!! I, like Dawn, will be sending at least 5 cards this month & some more in December....

Are you willing to join up???

xxx

My New Nestie Storage....

I recently came up with the idea of having a magnetic wall in the craftroom to store all my Nestabilities on... After much google-ing & hunting around I eventually managed to get hold of an industrial strength roll of thick magnetic sheeting.

My lovely hubby then attached a 120cm x 60cm piece of it to some MDF & then screwed it to the wall behind the door...

It's not quite finished yet as I do want to get some chrome edging to go all the way around & hide the cut ends but its a great use of space & it works brilliantly!!!

I've got some leftover if anyone wants to buy some????

xxx

WOW WOW WOW....

...WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the day of the Christmas Mega-Workshop, I cannot believe how much fun it was - totally exhausting, but great fun!

The day was supposed to be 10am - 4pm.... but in true 'Valentines' style we went over time...not by a little while, but by almost 4 hours!!!!!! OK, In hindsight maybe aiming to do 20 cards, 10 tags, a Christmas wreath & tree decorations - along with consuming wine, food, nibbles & of course chatting & messing around - oh, & playing 'silly question' games, giving out prizes, doing the raffle etc etc etc was a bit much in 6 hours...but you know me, I like to cram as much in as possible!!! We wouldn't want to be sitting there bored now would we!!! ;O)

Here are some pics just to embarrass you all...

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful crafting friends - I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!... Thank you for all the lovely emails & texts - I'm already planning the next big event!!!

xxx

Good Morning...

Well, I've got a very busy week planned this week, I have to do the last minute preperations for the Christmas mega-worshop, buy the last minute bits, go to sainsburys & get all the lunches organised etc etc etc...not to mention its half term! & I've promised the girls I'll take them up to Chessington for the halloween Hocus Pocus!!!!! Phew, its going to be mad!!

I'm not sure I'll get time to update the blog this week so a quick picture for now to show you this gorgeous giftbox I made..I used the stampin up Medallion stamp on scalloped notelet with lots of swirly bling to make this box pretty.. It looks so much better in real life - I just love Chocolate chip & Pretty in pink together..

Now, if I don't get time to pop back this week..please don't desert me!!! - I promise I'll be back after the Christmas mega-workshop to share with you all the things we made & hopefully some pics of the day itself :o)




xxx

A quicky today...

I used a very strange colour combo on this card.. Garden green & More mustard, not colours I would usually put together but they worked well with this cute image & don't you just love that striped grosgrain ribbon & vintage button???!!!

xxx

PBSC72..

Here's our card for todays Penny Black Saturday Challenge..

'HALLOWEEN'

Sofie & I used the PB Scary Spider 1531E. We stamped the spider onto Pumkin pie, Green galore & Lavendar lace cardstock, I cut them out & Sofie added the googly eyes.

We then used an embossing folder to make the web, rubbed white ink lightly over the top to make it stand out against the black cardstock, very lightly added some stickles just for a bit of shimmer, Sofie then chose a selection of co-ordinating ribbons to finish the card off.

Thanks for looking!

xxx

Oooohhh...

Have you ever visited Kirsty Wisemans blog???.. I absolutely adore her creations & her sense of humour is fab! well, do you know she has just signed up to become a Stampin Up! demonstrator - She's one of us!!! -

How cool is that!.. I can't wait to see what she creates with all her scrummy SU goodies!

If you've been thinking about become one of us, now is the perfect time! & don't forget, If you sign up with me & i'll give you an extra £50 worth of Stampin Up goodies totally free!!!

EDITED TO ADD...There's now more! Become a Demonstrator and Get 10% Off the Starter Kit!
In conjunction with SU's participation in the Hobbycrafts show, we are offering new demonstrators 10% off the cost of the Starter Kit from 22 October-13 November!

That’s over £240 worth of stamping and business supplies for only £125--10% off the regular price of £139.

The Starter Kit contains:

Four complete stamp sets
Stampin’ Around jumbo wheel, ink cartridge, and handle
Ribbon
Card stock
Love Notes and envelopes
Five Classic Stampin’ Pads
Stampin’ Pastels
Craft & Rubber Scissors
Stampin’ Scrub and Mist
VersaMark Pad
Blender pens
Adhesives
Business supplies


xxx

Hello... & SUPER DEAL!

...It seems like ages since I updated here, I hope you are all still with me???..Have you gone off & deserted me?? lol. I've been so busy designing, planning & prepping for the Mega-Christmas workshop (which is now fully booked!!!) Its going to be such a fun day..I really cannot wait!!!


anyway, I have a few new things to show you, firstly this cute card..

Isn't it a sweetie??!! I wanted to make this card to send off to a friend of mine, I've not spoken her for ages, so thought I'd just pop a card in the post saying 'hello', I hope she likes it.




I've also been making loads of theses tiny little 8cm square cards..they're so small & sweet.. & very easy to make! I made this first one for very good friends of ours who have just had their first baby,a little girl they've named Isla-faith..

This cute little wedding one was made...well,... for no particular reason really, I just thought I'd see what it looked like if I added Dazzling Diamonds around the edge...not too sure if it works though..

This little one has to be my favourite of the bunch - It really couldn't get any simpler!. I used the fabulousooo 'MAT PACK', this makes its so very easy to line up & poke your holes perfectly every time, then I used the 'HEART TO HEART' punch to make the 3 little hearts & finally added a simple sentiment.

I'm going to give this card to my lovely hubby, just so he knows how much I love him (ok, I'm creeping, coz I wanna buy something, but don't tell him that!!)..

I have a super deal for you...

On the last card I used the MAT PACK, THE PAPER PIERCING TOOL & the HEART TO HEART punch... (click on picture to enlarge)

If you order the MAT PAT & HEART TO HEART punch - I'll give you the Paper piercing tool absolutely FREE!!!

This offer is only valid until Sunday though, so email me at valentines.cards@btinternet.com asap to place your order!!



xxx

Penny Black Challenge..

Its our turn at being sponsor over on PBSC again & this week the prize is a Stampin Up Scrub!!!an essential for keeping all your stamps clean!
It's a sketch challenge this week, which looks great..I've not had time to play along yet (been stripping the wallpaper in the lounge-YUK YUK YUK) but anyway, why don't you pop over there & give it a go..

xxx